Treat every minute of summer as precious. Notice an ephemeral quality creep in to the pleasant weather and taste the freedom and bounty of high summer as Mercury conjuncts Jupiter in Leo today and Mars joins the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter already in Leo tomorrow. The last few weeks brought some tough work as Mercury and Venus squared Saturn, and we need to rest and renew for autumn’s work.

With this line-up in Leo, a fire sign, fire itself can be both unusually attractive and unusually dangerous. Our hearts and forests are flammable. We are combustible. So enjoy the creative heat, but step away from the melodrama, and watch where every spark, match, or incendiary incident lands. Most of our natural and emotional landscape may be bucolic, but when a fire starts, it roars.

Venus approaches its second conjunction to Jupiter (out of three in one season), so close to the Sun we see them only a few minutes after Sunset. Together they keep the mood romantic, emotional, expansive, and sociable, if flammable with hidden undertones of stubbornness and a tendency to be self-involved. With Venus retrograde (July 26—Sept 7) we’re in an emotional review time, which can bring old friends back into my life, or send us back to visit relative or favorite place. Or we may find ourselves back at an all too familiar emotional nexus, and wonder if these old patterns will ever end.

With Jupiter conjunct Venus, there is a longing to be free from those stuck places and to harvest some gifts from the past. It can be healing to reminisce over our best moments, to remember what it felt like to be happy or in love, a first inspiration or kiss, a childhood adventure, a moment when we reached across cultures and truly made a friend, and remember in our muscles that these moments are possible.

Mercury enters Virgo later today, and Jupiter enters Virgo next week, and suddenly schools supplies can begin to look good. Our critical mind kicks in. With Virgo-mind we begin to scan the fall schedule and think of sinking our teeth into a body of work.

But let’s hold on a minute. Before we get lost in autumnal activity and back to school paraphernalia, let’s make sure we’ve done what we need to do in the summer; rest, renew, and stretch our creative wings under Leo’s inspiration. It’s not time to save an enthusiastic adventure for later, the time is now.

This fall looks to be both busy and catalytic, but let’s not jump the gun. We need to be rested and ready. This Wednesday, as Mercury opposes Neptune, symbol of all things intuitive, imaginative and confusing, we may feel lazy or escapist and have a hard time seeing where we’re going or seeing one another without projection. We might as well let summer be summer this week and gear up the week after next when the Moon is new, Mercury moves past its opposition to Neptune, and we can see farther on down the road.

So for now, enjoy a sense of freedom and adventure as the weekend begins, but be careful to not say too much as Mercury conjuncts expansive Jupiter. We can free our mind of a recent interpersonal problem involving the clash of personalities, but can say too much or promise too much, or take an exaggerated view of the situation and have to clean that up later. Although it is likely the weather will be delightful, if a storm starts up, wind and water can get some bass take and cause a real problem this week, so keep a weather eye out.

As the energizing Sun trines restless Uranus towards the end of the week we want to deal with something completely different. A short trip or change of scene, even a moment where we work equally hard but on some unfamiliar project, is good for the soul. Because thoughtful Mercury is opposed Neptune, symbol of all things intuitive, imaginative and confusing, we may want to get away or feel lazy or escapist and need to drift and dream, preferably by water. But we may have trouble seeing one another clearly and without projections, or have logistical problems because we misplace or misconstrue an important piece of information.

So be aware of the impending busy fall, but don’t jump the gun. Sure we should stir the pot for future efforts and sketch out plans, but since we can’t see the future clearly we might as well let summer be summer this week, all the more precious as the foliage takes on that end of summer tinge. Next week, when Mercury moves past its opposition to Neptune and we can begin to see farther ahead, turn towards oncoming fall. It could be a doozy.

Friday, August 7: The mood is stubbornly optimistic, cheerful with a can-do, competitive streak as Mercury conjuncts Jupiter in Leo this morning. Mercury enters Virgo midday, sharpening our wits but bringing in a breeze of self-consciousness and uncertainty to an otherwise positive day. Dinnertime brings a few sharper or more serious edges as the Moon squares Venus and opposes Saturn; we understand the present limitations better but need to adjust rather than stop. Conversation and laughter pick up late tonight as the Moon enters Gemini.

Saturday, August 8: Be a butterfly and flitter from place to pace, conversation to conversation under a nervy Gemini Moon. Don’t expect to finish anything uninterruptedly. Work with imagination and this daydreaming quality consciously. Don’t expect others to truly understand as we’re all a bit off center and sensitive, but our perception can be slightly distorted as the Moon squares Neptune this afternoon. Tonight, as Mars enters Leo, the parties, and the ego issues, get down.

Sunday, August 9: After an early cranky spell we can be in for a lovely, sociable day. Just watch a tendency to get easily miffed if we feel ignored, or under-appreciated, and a tendency to make everything about us, rather than honor the vagaries of another person’s path. Calm the nervous energy and nurture the garden of connection as the talkative, if not deep, Gemini Moon sextiles the Sun, Uranus, and Venus.

Monday, August 10: the day is ripe with ambiguities and mixed feelings, and a tad of existential homesickness or insecurity as the Moon enters internal, introspective Cancer and contrasts the extroverted Leo Sun. Make contacts this morning, but invite rather than push, and let people choose their own timing. Be gentle towards a nervous or disjointed mid-afternoon. Feed each other well, comfort food helps calm some edgy defenses. Integrate uncomfortable information, and reconnect tonight.

Tuesday, August 11: It can all feel wrong this morning as the Moon opposes Pluto; we can recover our equilibrium easily if no one tries to talk us out of our feelings, but we may need to make a change in response to some discomfort as the Moon opposes Pluto this morning and squares Uranus this afternoon. A real loss is possible, or a need to turn away from one path to follow another. Validate feelings and loan stability, not flammability, to any emotional wobble.

Wednesday, August 12: Pay attention to the border between imagination and illusion as Mercury opposes Uranus and the Moon enters Leo. We can play off old stories, or let our imagination whisk us away into our hopes, fears, and stories of the past and not notice that we’ve drifted away from reality. Give imagination a great place to go and keep it out of trouble, confirm all stories and facts before reacting in the moment, though, as it is hard to ascertain the truth, and a strange hunger for excitement can feed the fire. Follow through on all issues of travel and communication carefully.

Thursday, August 13: And now for something completely different– or so we hope– as the Sun trines Uranus. A change of scene, script, or scenario is called for. We’re unusually open to progressive or innovative ideas, ready for an easy adventure or attitude adjustment, and want to take action to improve. Larger scale ambitions can feel blocked for the moment, and we are reminded to hold our own authority around other people’s pushy wills. Invite others to a better outcome, but be flexible about what that looks like.